On The Horizon
by Elizabeth Bartlett
Summary: They drove with no destination in mind. Just them, the stars, and the open road ahead.


A/N: Written for be_compromised's Secret Santa gift exchange and the prompt was a dusty road trip with road side attractions. I love road trips and I had a lot of fun looking up things that Clint and Natasha could see that was different and fun at the same time. Takes place post-Avengers but pre-Agents of Shield (so Phil is around). Also the car that is mentioned is a white Dodge Challenger with purple stripes in the middle. Don't own anything, I just play in the sandbox. Enjoy!

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The helicarrier was docked for maintenance and the bad guys decided to take the week off so Clint found himself with Natasha in his white and purple Challenger (the one that she took one look at and muttered something about 'poor choices'), roaring down the highway with nothing but dust in the rearview mirror. He didn't know how she managed to convince him to do it, but an hour in he was glad that she had-it had been far too long since they'd had any down time.

They made a silent agreement to skip the main highways, it was just flat and boring, besides the back roads were better and you got more of a feel for what the area was really like. Both had left their communicators in their shared quarters-not wanting to get pulled away from what was supposed to be their break from the world of demigods, billionaires, and super solders; besides, they knew that if the world really went to shit then Coulson would be able to contact them on Natasha's cell.

Clint had raised an eyebrow when Natasha pulled out her iPod and turned it on as they sped down the road-classic rock blaring from the speakers. "Sex Pistols?" he asked as _Anarchy in the U.K._ played.

"Is that a problem?" Natasha countered with a raised eyebrow of her own.

"Nope, just figured you for more of a AC/DC kinda person."

"Only post-_Powerage_." Natasha smiled at Clint's eyeroll. "Besides, I'm not the one with Dolly Parton on my iPod."

"Have you listened to _Joline_? Shit's amazing."

Natasha just chuckled and glanced out the window to watch the farmland roll past.

They drove with no destination in mind, just to put as much distance between them and their day to day lives.

"We should go there." Natasha suddenly said as she spotted a sign declaring that 'the world's largest ball of twine' was just ten miles away.

"Where?" Clint asked, wondering what Natasha was talking about. They'd been traveling for three days and it had finally started to feel like they were actually on vacation from a strange world that the country at large was still coming to terms with.

"There." She nodded as another sign-this one proclaiming that it was only six miles away-zoomed by.

"It's a tourist trap." Clint replied after a few seconds.

"And?"

"We'll have to pay like ten dollars to just park and then five more each to actually get in."

"But it's the biggest ball of twine this side of the Mississippi." Natasha needled, knowing that Clint would go there. "I don't think you can build something big enough to encompass that-it must be bigger than the Hulk."

Clint just huffed in reply but turned onto the exit ramp that lead to the ball of twine. He didn't want to admit that Natasha was right, it was right out in the open with no parking fee, but as they exited the car he caught that smile of hers that told him she knew. Biting back one himself, they leaned against the hood of the Challenger and stared at the giant ball of twine.

"Do you think Thor could lift it?" Natasha said after awhile, when four kids plus a barking puppy spilled out of a minivan while the parents lagged behind.

Clint turned to face her, and saw through his sunglasses and saw that she was serious. Glancing back to the roadside attraction where he saw that the kids were now chasing each other while the dog trailed after them. "Maybe. Tony would want to be there otherwise he wouldn't believe it." he shrugged while moving closer to Natasha and playfully nudging her with his elbow. "Why don't we take a picture with it? That way the others'll have to believe that we saw the largest ball of twine on the Eastern Seaboard."

Natasha was surprised at the suggestion, she knew Clint didn't keep memento's-when he moved into her quarters all he had were his SHIELD uniforms, his Hawkeye costume, an assortment of guns and knives, and a very impressive vinyl collection. No pictures of Barney or his parents, nothing from his carnival days, just a look in his eyes that he was glad to put those years behind him. But she also knew that the Loki incident had changed him, and that maybe he was starting to let her in again. Nodding she pulled out her smart phone (the one that Tony gave a dirty look and muttered something about making the team use StarkTech only every time he saw it) and took the picture-them smiling with the biggest ball of twine filling the backdrop.

They stop at a roadhouse for the evening-where the air was thick with smoke and muffled blues plays from the jukebox in the back of the bar. It's filled with locals and when Natasha walks in she can feel every eye on her but she just ignores them and made her way to the bar where she ordered two glasses of beer and a round of shots for them to do while waiting for a pool table to open up.

Four beers later one finally did and Natasha smiled at Clint as they picked up the cues and gathered up the balls, "Eight ball or Blackball?"

"Eight ball. I don't want to show off to much." Clint replied while setting up to break.

"Since when don't you want to show off? You're the same person who proved to Tony that not only do you miss, you don't even have to be looking to hit the target." Natasha said as Clint sank the five and four balls in the same pocket.

Clint smiled a little at the memory as he banked the cue ball off the side to sink the six ball into the corner, "Yeah...remember Pepper's face when she found out he'd bet his Seattle apartment?"

"How could I forget? I don't think I've ever seen him escape the tower so quickly before." Natasha replied as Clint quickly finished sinking the rest of the balls and was glad that he was loosening up. Sometimes she worried that what happened in New York was going to push him farther away from people-that's why she'd suggested the road trip. Get him away from everything and maybe he'd start to get back to normal.

"Another game? I'll let you break first, give you a chance." Clint teased as he started to set up the table again.

"Sure, I'll grab us some more beers." Natasha said over her shoulder as she headed towards the bar. Quickly getting back to the table she handed a glass to Clint and raised hers in a slight toast, "To us...and hopefully we'll get the full two weeks on the road."

Clint lightly tapped his glass against hers and echoed, "Hopefully." After taking a drink he asked, "Now are we going to play or do I have to take all the shots again?"

Natasha laughed, "No, I get to break this time remember?"

After the roadhouse Natasha notices that Clint seems more relaxed, like he's let his guard down a fraction of an inch; still watching everything around them like a hawk but he's more affectionate-a kiss here, a hand squeeze there-and Natasha smiles to herself. "This was a good idea." she thought to herself as Clint throws her the car keys one morning as they exit out of the motel room they pulled into late last night. "Where to?" she asked while popping open the door of the Challenger that she's starting to like but won't tell Clint because he'd never let her hear the end of it.

"I saw that there's this giant cement dinosaur a couple towns over-one of those roadside attractions like the ball of twine. Wanna check it out?" Clint asked as he looks over the roof of the car and smiles a little when Nat nods her head in agreement. "Good 'cause I was thinking that we could try and see as many of those things before we have to head back to New York."

Sliding into the drivers seat Natasha looked at Clint, tilting her head slightly as she looked at him. "You mean like an actual plan?"

"Well I mean you seemed to get a kick out of the twine so I figured why not see if we could get to a few of them?" Clint shrugged, trying to downplay it.

Natasha started the engine and listened to it purr for a minute before replying, "Sounds like a plan." She shifted the car into gear and it wasn't until after Clint finished giving her directions before she spoke again. "Besides, I think it'll piss Tony off that we spent our vacation like that."

Clint chuckled while watching the scenery fly by, "You know how I live to push his buttons."

The wind whipped around them as they stared at the giant dinosaur that towered over them. "What's it supposed to be?" Natasha asked while shading her eyes against the sun with her hand.

"...I don't know. A stegosaurus maybe?" Clint suggested while wondering if the person who'd designed the roadside attraction had done so while on LSD, because it looked like that was case. It looked nothing like the dinosaurs he vaguely remembered looking at when he was little.

"It looks more like an brontosaurus." Natasha tilted her head, hoping that that would give her any new hints as to what it was. It didn't and she gave up, brushing her hair out of her face as she sighed. "Well it's big at least. C'mon let's get back to the car."

"Don't you want to take a picture?" Clint called out he turned to face her retreating figure.

Natasha smiled and pulled out her phone while making her way back to Clint. After taking it, she took Clint's hand and gave it a squeeze, letting him know without words that she was glad he was on this trip with her.

"Here's your hot dog." Natasha said as she returned to where the car was parked. They were on their way to see the world's largest ladybug statute and after entering a small town, one of the number that they'd passed through but never lost their charm, Clint spotted the hot dog cart that was set up on the sidewalk and insisted they stop to get lunch there. Natasha had been skeptical at first but then saw the line that had formed in the time it took to find a spot to park the car and get out, the man's easy smile at the newcomer, and seeing that there was also fry bread made her glad that Clint loved street food.

"Thanks." Clint took it with a smile and tore a piece of the fry bread for himself.

"Hey, get your own!" Natasha protested while pulling the plate away.

"Mmm...this is good." Clint said as he quickly demolished the stolen bread and licked the remaining powdered sugar from his fingers. "So apparently there's this fundraiser thing going on tonight here; some barn dance where there'll be ribs, beer, and music. Wanna go?" Clint asked in-between bites of his hog dog.

Natasha raised an eyebrow but nodded, "Sure, it sounds like fun."

"Good, 'cause I already bought tickets." Clint grinned as he threw his wrapper towards the nearby trashcan and it went in effortlessly.

The barn was just outside of town, an abandoned farmhouse next to it, and Clint took a deep breath of the fresh air as he closed the car door. He watched as cars continued to park, families spilling out from their mini-vans, and caught a whiff of the barbecue sauce that was on the grill. Smiling a little, he took Natasha's hand and moved towards the doors. Once they were inside, he got them ice cold beers and shouted over the blaring music, "Having fun yet?"

"Oh yes, lots." Natasha deadpanned, not sure where the love of barbecue and country music came from. She knew almost everything about Clint but never once guessed that he liked country music. "_I guess there are still things about him that'll surprise me._" she thought to herself as he pulled her towards the dance floor where a number of couples were dancing away.

Reaching the dance floor, Clint pulled Natasha close to him and started to move to the fast beat. "I've never danced to country music before." she shouted as Clint began to dance.

"Don't worry, it's not that complicated." he replied with a wink.

Clint was right and soon Natasha had the steps down, even beginning to enjoy herself as they moved around the floor. The song ended and another one started, but instead of continuing Clint pulled her over towards where the ribs, chicken, and pork (along with all the usual side dishes) were and hands her a plate. Once they filled their plates, they both sat down in one of the corner tables and watched the crowd. It's clear to both of them that most everyone here knew each other and that this was a night for families to get out of the house or date night for those just starting out.

Natasha let a small smile appear on her face as she nudged Clint's foot, "Good job Clint."

"I knew you'd like it." He replied before stealing a quick kiss. "I really appreciate you."

Natasha faintly tasted the barbecue sauce from Clint on her lips while replying, "Same here."

"You don't see this many stars in New York."

"Nope." Natasha agrees as she looks at the night sky. The fundraiser has long since been over, everyone going back to their homes and mundane lives, but they stayed in the lot-climbing onto the hood and laying back on the windshield-looking at the stars as they came out. "Which one do you think Asgard is?"

Clint was silent for awhile, not sure if he wanted to answer the question. True it had been long time since Tasha had unscrambled his brain from Loki's control, but he still didn't like to think about where the crazy demi-god was. "Probably somewhere up there." he eventually replied with a lazy wave towards where the North Star is.

Natasha notices how long it takes for him to answer and feels a bit guilty for bringing it up, but knows that they couldn't avoid talking about it forever. But that conversation could wait for another day, right now they were going to look at the stars and she was going to tease him for his love of country music. "Why didn't you tell me you liked country? I'm sure Tony could've gotten you tickets to the CMAs." she teases, elbowing him playfully in the side.

"Because you'd do this to me." Clint smiled as he move closer to Tasha, moving his arm so that her neck rested on it. "Plus you'd tell the others and I've have to put up with Stark's jabs."

"Well, you secret's safe with me." Natasha said, moving closer to Clint and resting a hand on his chest. They lay like that for awhile, not saying anything and looking up at the stars until she breaks the silence. "I'm glad that we took this trip."

"Me too." Clint says a heartbeat later, eyes closed and finally feeling his body start to relax for the first real time in a long time. "Good thing Fury let us take an actual vacation this time. Remember Havana?"

"How could I forget?" Natasha chuckled. "You were so excited to drive that '55 El Dorado and then we got called back for the Istanbul mission and you fumed the entire flight there."

"Damn straight. But I did work out my frustration on those HYDRA agents."

"And Maria gave you that look of hers for almost a month afterwards."

Clint smiled, "Yeah...but on the plus side she didn't pester me for those requisition forms like she normally does."

"But then-look! A shooting star!" Natasha pointed out as she spotted the star streaking across the night sky. "Now you have to make a wish." she said while gently elbowing Clint in the side.

"Okay...okay." Clint said as he watched the star disappear. He was quiet for awhile, thinking as to what he should wish for. "Do I have to say what my wish is?"

"No, silly. Because if you do then it won't come true." Natasha said as she sat up and gave Clint a smile that had both of them sliding off of the hood and into the backseat of the mustang.

Natasha hit the HYDRA soldier with her Widow's Bite and let him fall to the ground, not waisting anymore time than was necessary to make sure he was down for the count. Seeing two soldier's running towards her, she picked up the length of pipe that was by her feet and swung-knocking one down and thrusting it behind to nail the second in the stomach before she slammed it across his back.

"Nat, your six!" Clint yelled from his spot across the warehouse floor and as he pulled out his second to last arrow and drew a bead on the soldier that was charging towards her. Letting go of the arrow, he watched as it hit the soldier in the middle of his chest and hardly paused as he jumped into the fray- ducking as one of the remaining HYDRA soldier's tried to take his head off and even using some of his acrobatic skills when the situation called for it.

Finally all of the HYDRA agents were down and they walked out of the warehouse with the package, covered with dirt and grime and smiles on their faces. "I think we can count this as a 'no injuries' win." Clint said as they stored their gear plus the package in the back of the Quinjet.

"I think so." Natasha replied as she made sure the laptop and vials were secure before slipping into the pilots seat. They had just taken off, headed towards SHIELD headquarters in New York, when Natasha's phone started ringing. Seeing that it was Phil, she exchanged a shrug with Clint as he answered it.

"Gopher Clint here, how may I direct your call?" Clint asked while putting his feet on the console dashboard and ignored Natasha as she gave them a swat; he would be dead and buried before he stopped doing that.

_"Since the warehouse is still standing I take it the retrieval was success?"_

"Copy that, we managed to get the laptop and vials without having to blow the building. Although there were more HYDRA goons than we received intel on so it took about ten minutes longer than we originally thought-we just took off."

_"I'll tell Pepper so she'll have your outfits ready at headquarters, there's the Stark Industries benefit tonight at the Met remember?"_

"Really Phil, do we have to go? We just finished the job and it's a good four hours to the city." Clint wrinkled his nose at the thought of having to slip on a tux and play nice with a bunch of people who thought an idea of a good time was screwing over the rest of the population.

_"It's a command appearance, everyone has to go. Including me, Barton. I'll see the both of you then."_

Clint made a slight grimace at the phone after Phil ended the call but knew that he'd suck it up and go with Natasha to the event, at the very least he'd get to see her in a knockout dress and maybe that'd lead to some awesome sex afterwards. Knowing that he had plenty of time to relax, Clint absently opened up Nat's photos on the phone and was surprised to see that she still had the ones from their impromptu vacation. It had been a few months since they'd taken it and he'd thought that she'd gotten rid of the images once she'd shown Pepper and Maria. "Why'd you keep the photos?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him (as it always did).

Natasha raised an eyebrow at the question and shrugged, "I wanted to remind myself of how much fun we had, of how for a little while we were normal. Nothing weird happened to us on the trip and it was nice...nice to get a taste of what being average might be like."

Clint let her answer sink in for a few minutes before he spoke, "Yeah that was nice...maybe next time we get more time off we should do it again."

Natasha nodded her head while saying, "Yeah...we should."

"Good. But this time I get to decide where we go-maybe somewhere with a beach." Clint said as he set the phone down and then settled so he was comfortable for the long flight back.

"You'd like that wouldn't you?" Natasha replied with a light smile. Things had been looking up ever since the road trip and she was glad that she'd convinced him to take it in the first place.


End file.
